Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiyahstarter
Acts 4:29-31:
"...and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness."
My question: How does this "filling" referred to in the above passage compare to/differ from the initial Holy Ghost baptism infilling?
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Your post raises a good question about terminology. Does the phrase in
Acts 2:4, "...and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost ..." represent some sort of initiation experience? Is it, once they've been "filled" they now no longer need to experience the "ritual" again?
I don't think any OP's would want to put it quite that way, but that's how we appear to treat the experience. Once the convert has spoken in tonguews we pass them off and move on to the next seeker. It's sort of like Pledge Week in a fraternity. Once the pledge has swallowed a goldfish and had his bottom paddled he is forever a member and can now watch as others suffer the initiation experience.
I remember reading a treatment on the verb "be filled (with the Spirit)" in
Ephesians 5:8 (was it Bauer's Lexicon?). Anyway, the point the exegete wanted to make was that the verb form there could be understood as "be, being filled with the Spirit..." It meant that the infilling of the Holy Spirit was not to be some "initiation" experience, but a life long condition, sort of like leaving a glass under the faucet as a stream of water filled the glass over and over again.
Luke may not be intending that we see the apostles having a "double" experience. It may be that he is reemphasizing the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
There is also the possibility that that Luke is describing something phenomologically. The Holy Spirit was always present in the lives of the apostles and they were always "filled," but at certain times there were diverse accompanying outward manifestations. Others have already commented on this.
But your question about salvation being evidenced by speaking in other tongues is perhaps most intriguing. You've caused me to ask, "Do we all need to be apostles to be Apostolic?"